Feel
by tehPrincess
Summary: KotOR 2: A sweeter, sexier version of the Exile and Atton's escape from Peragus. Rated M for sexual content and some adult language.
1. Part 1

**Feel**- during KotOR 2 Atton, neutral female Exile

_Disclaimer: All characters, etc. from the game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords belong to Obsidian Ent. and LucasArts._

A/N: Just a head's up - there's going to sexual content and some swearing in this story.

* * *

As Cat entered the detention room, she was met with two holding cells. The far one held a dark-haired spacer-type. He was tall, with dark hair and teasing eyes. "Niiiiiiiice..." he said as she approached. She hadn't worried too much about her lack of clothing before, but suddenly, she felt as if she were stark naked, instead of nearly so.

The place was deserted, aside from the strange old woman who wouldn't leave the morgue, and suddenly, she felt every inch alone with the stranger, even with the force cage that separated them.

She fumbled a bit with her vibro blade, "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Atton... Atton Rand."

She tried desperately to recall if she'd ever heard that name before. But no, she felt certain she hadn't.

There was something about him... something exciting and interesting. But that was probably just wishful thinking on her part. After all, he _was_ rather handsome. But she wasn't able to read people as well as she used to.

"I'm Cat. Care to explain why you're locked up?" She couldn't seem to help the snappish tone that entered her voice. This was silly. The place was clearly empty, like a scene straight out of a survival horror holo vid, but instead of feeling grateful for the first bit of company she'd found, she was mystified and irritated by the fact that she found this mysterious new stranger so attractive. She'd never really felt this way about someone she'd just met before. Ever. She could remember, back when she was a member of the Jedi order, deciding that certain men of her acquaintance were "handsome". Kavar came to mind. But at _that_ point in her life, she'd been committed to the Jedi lifestyle completely. So although she could acknowledge a nice looking man to herself, it was always in the very back of her mind, like noticing that your brother, or cousin had grown into a fine looking man. Because Jedi weren't allowed to love.

What a crock.

After her exile, she'd actually found herself trying to feel _anything_. She'd trolled cantinas, and places that probably should have been off limits to her, now that she seemed to be at a very low point in her training and abilities. But nothing. Nobody had so much as turned her head, or garnered any kind of second look. Not that she'd been trying to find companionship. Far from it. She just figured that now would be a good time to test her new freedom, and maybe escape the pain. If even for just an hour or two. Finding someone that wouldn't mind a little mutual "use each other" session sounded pretty damn good.

"Security claimed I violated some trumped up regulation or another - take it up with them if you want." Ah, great. Yet another person on this rock that didn't seem to know how to answer simple questions. But the old woman unnerved her in an entirely different way. Obviously there'd be no "security" to take _anything_ up with. So his answer was just the same as no answer at all.

Then it occurred to her that she was only stalling for time. Like there was a chance in hell that this ridiculous attraction she felt was going to abate if she just kept him locked up for a little while longer. The poor man was clearly exhausted from standing so long, and who knows when he'd been able to eat last. This far out, it was doubtful that what passed for miner security followed any type of Republic guidelines regarding their prisoners.

"Hey, wait a minute - you're the Jedi that the miners have been talking about, aren't you?" She noticed that his nostrils seemed to flair a bit with the question, and wondered if it was disgust or excitement that caused it.

"I'm no longer a member of the Jedi order," she found herself explaining. Why did she feel the need to tell this man _everything_? He clearly had no such problem.

"Look - hey, let me out, and I can help you. I can. I've gotten out of trouble countless times."

"Count yourself lucky. If you hadn't been in this force cage, you'd probably be dead, just like everyone else around here," she said as she deactivated it. He looked somewhat surprised for a brief moment, then cocked an absolutely to-die-for lopsided grin at her.

"Alright, then. Let's get the hell off this rock."

* * *

Typical problems arose.

They arrived at the station's main contol pannel. "Let's reroute the emergency systems. Then we can make our way to the hangers, grab a ship, and fly out of here." His dark brows drew together in a frown. "What the hell...?"

"What's wrong?"

"I _can't _reroute the system. It's been cut clean from the main hub."

"What? During an emergency lock down?" Cat asked.

"Uh-huh. Looks like it was done on purpose. It's like someone tried to lock down this whole level tight, and leave us here. Trapped."

A cold chill ran up her spine. "We need to leave. Now."

"Well, there's really not a whole helluva lot we can do but maybe try to contact someone using the comm. We have communications back, at least, for all the good trying to shout into a vacuum will do us," he must have noticed her shiver, for as he spoke, he began to shrug out of his jacket.

He held it out in such a way as to help her slide it on. She wanted to decline his offer, but she figured it would, at the least, protect her from the eerie chill of this place, and at the most, stop Atton's not-so-subtle glances. His eyes had continued to slide from her cleavage down to her legs from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

She allowed him to help her put it on, then clutched it around herself. Bad move. Now she could smell him. All around herself, and damn, did he smell _yummy_.

Cat shook herself and stepped up to the console.

The Hanger Bay's comm system bleeped to life, "Dwoooooooo... deet? Beep."

"Sounds like one of those worthless utility droids," Atton griped.

"We're trapped on the administration level. Can you unlock the turbo lifts?" Cat asked expectantly.

"Dooooooo-reep. Bee-whoop."

"Sounds like he's going to see what he can find on his level. He wants us to sit tight until he's had a chance to run a search," she explained.

"Well, that's _something_, at least," Atton sighed.


	2. Part 2

"So, uh, how long have you been a Jedi? Must be tough, you know... no family, no husband..."

"Don't be an idiot. I already told you, I'm _not_ a Jedi," she snapped.

Atton's eyebrows shot up at her rather angry response. "Hey, don't get all touchy..." he trailed off as they heard a _whoosh_ that sounded a lot like one of the level's turbo lift doors sliding open. "Hey, what do you know - looks like that little cargo cylinder came through." He grinned a bit, but suddenly his face fell as he scanned the command console's screen. "Oh, for fuck's sake!"

"What's wrong?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"All that stupid thing did was open an emergency hatch. That's not going to get us to the hanger."

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to take that hatch down to the mining tunnels and see if I can get the turbo lifts working," she replied.

"Wait, wait. Don't be crazy, there's probably nothing down there but superheated rock and collapsed blast tunnels."

She shook her head at him, "It's the only way out. What choice do we have?"

His eyes narrowed at her a bit. "All right, fine. Let's get going then. If I've got to die on this fucking rock, better sooner than later."

"Not so fast," she cut in, "I need you to stay, and monitor things up here."

"What!?" his expression to that was priceless.

"I need you to watch and let me know if things start looking too... unstable. I'd rather not die in a fiery explosion, thank you."

For a moment it looked like he was going to pout. She would have laughed if the situation weren't so dire. "I'll be fine, really. I'll keep the comlink open. You'll be able to reach me the entire time."

He shook his head. "All right... but I don't like it. Be careful. Don't go playing hero too hard, OK?"

Cat met Atton's eyes briefly. "Uh, not that I care what happens to you or anything. I just don't want to be trying to get out of here by myself," he said with another one of his lop-sided grins.

"Right." She was actually looking forward to a little time away from him. She needed to think. Being around him was just too confusing. "I'll be back before you know it." She gripped her vibro blade, then headed off in the direction of the emergency hatch.

* * *

"Find the emergency supplies?"

Sheesh, she had just left his side, and he was already checking up on her. What was the point of ditching him, just so she could have a frackin' minute to herself, if he was going to pester her the entire time?

"Yep. Oh, and looky. The ugliest mining uniform I've ever seen. But at least it looks like a proper fit."

"Damnit!" she heard through the comm.

"What's wrong now?" she asked.

"Uh... I mean, good, good to hear it. No sense in you running around half-naked. It's... it's distracting... I mean, for the droids."

Cat snickered a little. _Nice cover, big boy_. "Hey, at least this means you get your jacket back, just as soon as we meet up again." She sure hoped the laughter in her voice wasn't too obvious over the comm.

"There's got to be some kind of central controller down there. You should be able to use it to shut down any remaining rogue mining droids."

"All right. I'll see you soon." She figured a response like that might put a stop to any further chit chat.

"Yeah, OK. And be careful down there."

* * *

When she heard from Atton again, she was in the middle of fighting a squad of mining droids. It actually felt good, using her muscles in such a way again. She hadn't had to test her skills in combat since... well, since Malachor V. It felt strange, the bit of the Force that began to build inside her again. Not the same as it had, really. Fainter, but she was fairly surprised that she was able to feel it at all after so long. She'd truly believed that she'd never feel it again. And she'd gotten used to the idea. But if she were honest with herself now, it's return felt good.

She was able to utilize her healing ability for the first time in years, which was convenient. It was also all that she needed to tune out the danger and any nervous feelings that could have assailed any normal person who'd been out of practice for so long, but had been thrust into a do or die situation.

The combat flowed through her, and she didn't miss a beat as she was struck by a particularly vicious mining droid arm.

When she had the tunnels nearly cleared, she heard from a rather frantic-sounding Atton. "Hey - I'm picking up some strange readings - what are you doing down there?"

Oops. She'd forgotten that this was supposed to merely be a quick little detour through the tunnels. She'd been taking her time, all in an effort to clear her head so she could think. Think about the mysterious old woman who seemed to have the ability to speak inside of Cat's head. Think of the crazy situation she found herself in. One moment, on a large Republic transport, the next, awakening on this lifeless rock, with the ever-present desire to run away, and finally, to think of the handsome scoundrel she'd managed to team up with.

"Erm... what kind of readings?"

"You need to get the hell out of there, _now_. All the containment fields are shutting down. Unless you're ready to feel the skin burned from your bones, you'd better move your ass."

So Cat ran.


	3. Part 3

She felt absolutely ridiculous. Worse than when she was running around the station in her undies, looting the corpses of the recently and not-so-recently dead miners.

She suppressed a giggle as she bounced along the catwalk that wrapped around the administration section in the silly space suit. Once she hit the second airlock, it would only be a matter of a couple hallways before... before she was right back where she'd started again.

The situation was looking increasingly hopeless.

"It's about damn time!" nearly burst her ear drums, "I lost your signal after the mining tunnels. I thought you said that I'd be able to reach you the entire time." Wow. He actually sounded worried about her.

"I'm coming in clear now, aren't I?" Cat quipped. Maybe if she ignored his annoyance with her, he'd forget about it, too.

"Well, yes, but now I'm picking you up on the exterior of the facility, on the asteroid's surface. That can't be right."

"Really? Maybe you should look up."

She nearly fell over as he yelled at her again, "Have you lost your damn mind? What are you doing out there?"

"This is the only way to reach the dormitory section, which is the only place left for me to go," She said defensively. She didn't know whether it was cute or just plain irritating that he was getting so upset with her.

"Shit. You need to get out of there... quick. The facility's systems are venting fuel deposits right into your path. I've tried shutting them down, but no dice. Strange... the vents look like they've been purposely rerouted to vent the gases to the exterior, and only in the last few minutes."

What the_ hell_ was going on around here?

"It's almost as if... Oh, what now?!." He paused, looking down at the console in front of him. "I don't believe this - there's a ship coming in, sending a docking code."

Cat felt a chill, like death himself had run a cold finger down her back. She slowly turned away from the facility, and out towards space. Her eyes nearly popped as she realized that the incoming ship was none other than the the _Harbinger_, the Republic capital ship that had been transporting her to Telos before she woke up here.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

It never even occured to her to think of the ship as a rescue.

The urge to flee rang through her head once again, so Cat took off as fast as the space suit would allow.

* * *

She had her fears confirmed as she entered the administration level. Kreia was waiting, and the very first words out of her mouth were, "Our enemy is here. We must leave at once."

"Enemy? What enemy?" Cat asked.

"The one that fired upon the _Ebon Hawk_ as we attempted to rescue you... and he will not let us go without blood being shed."

"So wait," between her conversation with the Psycho killer HK-50 droid that she'd met at the fuel depot, and what cryptic dialog she could get out of Kreia, Cat had managed to piece a few things together, "somehow, this 'he' managed to take over the _Harbinger_, then you rescued me, and then he pursued us and nearly blew our ship to hell and gone, after which we ended up here, and now he's arrived to finish us off? Who _is_ this guy?"

"The story is a long one, and time is short. Come, we must go, and quickly." Why the hell should she expect any less than that? Of course she's not going to answer a simple goddamn question.

* * *

The two made their way to where Cat had left Atton not too long ago. He looked some-what taken aback by Kreia. "What in space is going on? Who the hell is this?"

Again, she had an overwhelming urge to giggle. "Atton, there's really no time to explain. We've gotta go, so come on."

"Uh... all right. I'm guessing that Republic ship that just docked isn't carrying friends of yours."

Kreia had something to say to that, "I hope you're as good with that blaster as you seem to think you are with your mouth."

Atton's dark brows drew together in annoyance, "Yeah, and I'm also good at running and drinking, your majesty. I hate to be the one to break this to you, you mean old bag, but that warship's the only way off this station."

As the trio started to make their way to the airlock, Cat handed Atton back his jacket, "Thanks." Atton gave her a white-toothed grin, and let his hand brush hers as he took his it back from her. He shrugged it onto his wide shoulders.

"Good thing we have a clear run to the shi..."

He was interrupted by a very unnerving, "Threat: Master... Where are you going? I suggest you shut down, stay put, and wait for rescue."

Great. Psycho-droid from the fuel depot stood between them and the airlock door.

"Sorry, I don't listen to assassin droids."

At this point, the crazy HK-50 began spouting off about "wanton slaughter" and owned up to the fact that it had, indeed, been him who caused the deaths of everyone on Peragus.

The three of them were able to reduce the droid and his little parade of floating mines to scrap fairly quickly.

* * *

For as creepy and forsaken as Peragus felt, the _Harbinger_ felt even worse. The lights flickered on and off. Cat remembered that although she'd spent most of her time on board in her stateroom, the ship had been fair to bursting with passengers and crew. Now, it just seemed... empty. There weren't even any bodies laying about.

Kreia began to look agitated. "Something's wrong. There's nobody here." _And you thought there would be?_ Cat wanted to ask. But she decided it would be best to keep her trap shut.

"Everyone here has been slain, yet there are few signs of battle. This place has been hit by assassins of a different sort," she continued cryptically.

"What the hell are we doing here, then? I'm heading back to the facility." Atton started to stride briskly past them.

Cat put her hand on his arm to stop him, "We can't go back. Atton, please. There's no other way to reach the hanger."

His eyes swept her face, "Alright... but this won't end well, trust me."

They made their way to the bridge and grabbed the _Harbinger_'s orbital drift charts for the _Ebon Hawk_'s navicomputer. On the next level down, the three stopped outside of a pair of matching doors.

"Hey, can you pick this lock for me?" she asked tall-dark-and grouchy. It really was quite funny, the way he'd become so pouty with Kreia around.

"What is it?" the old woman asked.

"I just need a second - this was my room."

"Whatever you intend to do, do it quickly," Kreia grouched.

Cat grabbed Atton's hand after he'd picked the lock, and slid through the doorway.

"You alright?" she asked him.

"Whaddya mean?" he asked, as he looked the room over. She noticed he was eyeing the bed, and had to stop herself from blushing.

"Why do you dislike Kreia so much?"

"She's a Jedi," he answered, meeting her eyes at last. "I _hate_ Jedi."

"Why?" she asked. She noticed that their voices had dropped to whispers.

His hand came up and wrapped itself around the brown hair of her ponytail.

She knew what was coming, knew it was probably all a ploy to stop her questions, but she didn't care. He pulled her close, up against his big strong body. She waited what felt like forever, then peeked up at him through her lashes. He inhaled deeply, smelling her, then crushed her to his chest as his lips came down and captured hers.

The world around her seemed to explode. She clutched his shoulders as he kissed her hard, bruising her lips, biting at her mouth as his arms, like steal bands around her, began to slide down to her bottom. He cupped her there, and pulled her into the cradle of his hips. She was a bit shocked, a little bit scared, but mostly excited, as she felt every hard, intimate inch of him through his clothes.

She tore her mouth from his and gasped for air, as his open mouth slid down her neck, and began to nibble and bite her throat. He was rough and violent, and it should have hurt, but it didn't.

_What am I doing?_ Cat thought franticly. They needed to go, had to flee before the scary "he" arrived to destroy them all. And despite any "feelings" she may have already developed for him, she barely knew this man!

But she just couldn't bring herself to let him go. He walked her backwards, until the backs of her knees hit the bed. One hand had left her bottom and was jerking at the shirt of the ugly miner's uniform. She pushed her own hands between them, and yanked his skirt from the waistband of his pants. As her fingers slid up the rigid muscles of his belly, she found herself flat on her back. He came over her, crushing her into the mattress.

And then, she heard it.

That cronish voice from the hallway, "Our enemies gather while we wait here."

_Well, hell._


	4. Part 4

Cat expected Atton to stop at the sound of Kreia's voice. No such luck.

Instead, she felt buttons pop as he wrenched the sides of the mining uniform's shirt apart.

Her hands left their exploration of his abs, and began pushing furiously at his shoulders. "Atton...," she tried to say, but his mouth roughly covered hers again, and all that came out was a garbled noise. She tried to turn her head and free her lips, but he stayed with her.

She had to resort to biting his lip. "Mmm, you have _no _idea how much hotter that just made me," he whispered in a super-sexy voice.

Now was her chance. "Get _off_!" she panted.

With a strangled groan, he rolled to his side, allowing her to escape. Cat found herself blushing as she scrambled to her feet.

"Don't _ever _bite me in an effort to make me leave you alone, sweets." He rolled onto his back, leaning up on his elbows, and watched her through narrowed eyes as she made her way to the footlocker on the far side of the room.

After fumbling with the lock, she retrieved what little remained inside. Busy work finished, she turned, and watched wearily as Atton got to his feet.

"Nosy old bitch." Atton muttered as he tucked his shirt back into his pants.

"She's right. That... that shouldn't have happened." She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she desperately tried to tuck the stray pieces of brown hair back into her ponytail.

"Don't give me that. You're as hot for me as I am for you. And I gave you _plenty_ of time to pull away."

"Well, it _won't_ happen again," she snapped angrily.

She looked helplessly down at the front of her shirt, wondering what to do about the missing buttons.

"Come here," he said, stepping up to her. "It's not completely wasted, only the top few buttons are gone." His voice was deliciously husky. "We'll have to keep our eyes out for a replacement."

She slapped at his hands as he tried to help her tuck the sides together.

"And, uh... sorry."

Her eyes flew up to his face when she heard that. "Look, sweets, don't be mad at me."

And she melted. "I'm not. It's just... well, this is hardly the time or place, now is it?"

Wrapping one strong arm around her waist, he brushed the palm of his other hand across her cheek. His eyes lingered on her swollen lips. "You alright?"

Suddenly, inexplicably, she felt fantastic. "Uh-huh. How 'bout you?"

Atton grinned as he licked away a bit of blood that lingered on his bottom lip. "Not so hot, sweets," and his hand dropped from her face to tug at the material around his swollen groin.

She felt her cheeks burning again.

"Let's get going then." His breath feathered her cheek and she felt weak in the knees.

After placing a quick, hard kiss on her lips, Atton released her, and they returned to business.

Kreia gave them both the evil eye as they joined her in the hall. Cat braced herself, waiting for some kind of mental put down, but Kreia remained blessedly silent.

* * *

The "assassins of a different sort" turned out to be black clad minons, who liked to use stealth field generators until they had you surrounded. Kind of creepy, especially added to the ship's dark atmosphere, but nothing the three of them couldn't handle.

In the ship's medical bay, she found a rather interesting holo recording. In it, a large, dark, and scary man used the force on an unsuspecting Republic soldier, then busted his way out of a bacta tank. She'd been in enough of those tanks herself to know that the impact required to pull off such an escape would kill a normal person. She didn't want to think about what it would mean to face such a man in combat.

And at last, they reached the ship's Engine Deck.

"We're nearly there," she tried to put some cheer into her voice, but knew she failed miserably.

Atton stopped in his tracks. "Hold up. Don't you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Cat asked. But then she _did _feel something. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck all stood up at once.

"Something's gonna get real wrong, real quick." No sooner had the words left his lips, when Mr. Scary himself appeared.

He was one of the most intimidating sights that Cat had seen in her life. And she'd seen a _lot_ during the war. Nothing came close to this guy. His skin was damaged to the point that it consisted merely of burned bits and pieces, and his entire right arm, from the shoulder down, was clearly a replacement. He had what appeared to be a very poorly constructed false eye, and it, along with it's bloodshot partner, glared menacingly out at her from his scar-riddled face.

This guy made her feel, alright. And what she felt was terror.

He walked slowly, purposefully, toward them.

Panic struck Cat, but before she could voice it, Kreia turned to her. "This battle is mine alone. Run. I will handle him, then be along shortly."

With that, Kreia rushed to meet him. She paused, and said to the pair, "Don't worry. I am not defenceless. And power has blinded him long ago." And the door shut behind her with a snap.

Cat turned to Atton, "Well that was... strange."

"Yeah. Am I the only one who's got the feeling that she knows that guy?" He shook himself a bit, then grabbed her hand, and the two rushed toward the door to maintenance control.


	5. Part 5

Atton and Cat were moving along at a fast clip, still hand-clasped. "This feels wrong. We shouldn't have just left her alone with that guy." She shuddered, "Ack, does he give me the creeps."

Atton shrugged. "_She_ seemed to think she could handle him. And even if she can't, there's really no sense in us waiting in line for him to go to work on us next." He looked down at her as he spoke, giving her a reassuring smile.

_That makes sense, I guess_ she thought, moving along. She just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. But how were they supposed to do that if they needed to meet up with Kreia later on? And why did she even care about that strange old woman?

The situation was maddening.

They happened upon a few plasteel containers along the way, and did a quick search for medipacks and grenades. "Lookie. I haven't a clue what this is doing in here, but this could solve our little problem with your buttons." He held up a Jedi robe, of all things. It was grey, and looked like the typical modest robes of the Jedi order. She didn't know why, but she had absolutely no desire to wear the thing. She hadn't worn a Jedi robe since before the war, when she'd left them behind in leu of her battle armor. She didn't want to take the time now to analyze it, but she did log it away so she could examine her thoughts on the subject later.

"Let's keep searching, shall we? I'm thinking some nice armor, maybe of the black Cinnagar variety. Although, it might gimp my force powers a bit," she said, taking the robe from him and stuffing it back into the container. For some reason her response seemed to please him. _And why was that?_ she wondered. What was with him? Why did he hate the Jedi? She certainly didn't hate them herself, she just knew deep down that she wasn't one any longer.

She wanted to know more about him. Badly. And she promised herself that just as soon as they had the time, she was going to corner him for a little Q and A session. And it would _not_ end up like the last one had. No matter _how_ delicious it had been.

They reached the maintenance doors to the ship's Ion Engines. "Here goes nothing," Atton muttered as he pressed a button on a nearby console to activate the Ion Engine's coolant. The fuel line doors slid open with a hiss.

The two of them paused for a moment, looking into the line's red glowing corridors. "This is fucking crazy, you know that?" Atton said angrily. He caught her hand in his again, giving it a tight squeeze, and in they went.

They broke into a run, and made their way to the other side. As they exited through the door to the fuel depot, they both breathed a sigh of relief. At last, they were back on Peragus.

They paused here, catching their breath.

"Nothing like dodging a painful, fiery death to get the heart pumping." Atton seemed back to his cheeky self, now that they'd left the _Harbinger_ behind. The hanger was close now, so the sense of urgency had passed.

She took a deep breath. "Atton... can I ask you something?" she ventured.

"Sure, sweets. Now that our lives aren't in any immediate danger, ask away."

"What you told me back in my room... why do you hate the Jedi? What happened to you?"

She watched as the smile fell from his face. His shoulders stiffened, and the air around them seemed to change. She suddenly felt... cold.

"Why do I hate Jedi? Because Jedi lie, that's why." His voice sounded vacant, empty. It felt like he was light years away.

She didn't know what to say to this. As horrible as it sounded, she couldn't help but believe that what he'd said was somewhat true.

Still, that wasn't much of an answer, and now he just seemed angry. Like he'd just pulled away from her.

She thought briefly about trying to read his thoughts. She hadn't attempted such a thing in so long that she doubted she was even capable of it any more. But she really wanted to know what he was thinking. A quick peek couldn't possibly hurt. Could it?

She let her mind brush his, gently, then immediately pulled back as she saw his eyes widen.

"What the hell are you doing?" His hands came up, and he grabbed her arms, just above the elbows.

"Nothing... I, well, I'm sorry," she stammered.

"Don't _ever_ fucking do that shit to me again, you got it? I'm not some dumb punk kid that you can mess with. And for someone that keeps swearing up and down that she's not a Jedi, you sure as _hell_ act like one," he sneered.

Cat was confused, and a little hurt, to be honest. But strangest of all, was the anger she felt bubbling up inside her. She hadn't felt anger since... well, it was a long damn time ago, she knew that much.

She decided to have it out with him, here and now. If he wanted to be a jackass, so be it, but if underneath his sexy bod, gorgeous looks, and killer smiles he was just another asshole, she wanted to know now, and not when her heart was completely tied up in him.

"Now _you_ listen to _me_! I don't know who you think you're playing with, but your 'mysterious rogue' act is running _real_ goddamn thin. I've been through hell and back, and none of you people seem to think you have to answer a damn thing that's asked of you! You want your privacy? _Fine! _But stay the hell away from me! Once we reach the ship, you can go back to your lonely, self-absorbed life, and we can forget all about the fact that we ever even met each other!"

His grip on her arms tightened, and she wondered briefly if she'd pushed him too far.

The answer was a resounding_ yes! _as Atton pulled her hard against him and took her mouth in a ferocious kiss.

If his kisses were rough before, they didn't even compare to the brutality he showed now. He kissed her with a desperation born of anger and possession, his tongue raping her mouth, his hands hard, as they left her arms and swept her up against him. She felt her lip split, and tasted blood. He was angry, and kissed her as if he hated her, his mouth punishing her, teeth grinding against her own.

She loved every second of it.

He moved them about, and she felt her back slam into the cold metal walls of the fuel depot. He pushed hard against her with his body, lifting her off her feet as his thigh wedged itself between her legs and pushed against the most sensitive part of her. His hands were yanking at the mining uniform's top again, this time finishing the buttons off, and slipping inside to touch her hot skin.

She felt the fingers of his right hand close around her, pinching her. He pulled hard, sending electric currents running down her belly, and into her womb, causing her to cry out against his mouth. This only seemed to make him hotter, and he began to yank at the buttons on the mining uniform's pants.

She didn't care. Didn't care that he was fully dressed, but was near to having her naked, didn't care that the metal at her back was cold and unyielding, didn't care that her first time with this beautiful scoundrel was going to be standing up, and for all intents and purposes, in a public hallway.

All she could care about was how he made her feel. He made her confused and happy, angry and scared, strong, and weak.

And she loved it.

"You're never gonna forget me. I won't let you," he whispered into her ear.

He had the mining pants and her panties down around her knees, and using one hand to brace her against the wall, he fumbled with his belt buckle.

Excitement shot up her spine, as she waited for him. His breathing was coming out in short puffs as he fought to free himself. "Just wait. You're not even going to be able to walk when I'm finished with you."

Like a terrible omen, as soon as the words had left his mouth, she felt pain like she'd never experienced before run through her entire body.

She screamed in pain and fear.

Atton, poised against her, at the the brink of taking everything from her, reeled back in shock and surprise.

He looked into her face and saw that it was pinched in pain, and tears ran down her cheeks. "Fuck!" he yelled, as he let her slide down the wall until her feet touched the ground. He yanked her pants up to her hips. His hands left her briefly, just long enough for him to zip his fly, and she fell onto her knees, burying her face in her hands.

Her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. He quickly dropped to his knees as well, wrapping his arm around her, and pulled her head into his chest, "What the fuck is going on?!"

"I... I don't know! I think... I think Kreia is hurt. Badly." Waves of burning pain hit her left hand, spreading up her arm and throughout her entire body. Then there was a terrible numbing, like a part of herself had gone missing.

Atton was using his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "What? _Kreia_ did this to you?"

"No, I think that something's happened _to _Kreia. And I'm feeling what she feels."

"Why the hell would you feel what she feels?" He probably didn't know it, but he was shouting at her.

"I... I don't know. This has never happened to me before. I think it's... through the Force." The pain was receding, but the mere memory of it was making her shudder.

Atton got to his feet, then leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. He cradled her to his chest. "You scared the living _shit_ outta me."

She smiled shakily up into his face. His eyebrows were drawn together in worry. "I'm OK now, really. I can walk."

"Just... just let me carry you for a little bit," he said quietly as he slowly started walking. "Look, I'm sorry I bit your head off. I just..."

"It's OK," she interrupted him, "I shouldn't have done that. It's something that's only done to strangers, or in moments of distrust. And Atton. I trust you."

He looked a little sheepish at that.

"I promise. I won't ever do that to you again." And she meant it.

He carried her easily, making her feel tiny in his arms. "Damn," he muttered. "Nice thing, the 'Force' is, ain't it?" he was looking straight ahead now as he walked. "How long have you known the old woman? She your grandma or something?"

Cat snickered a bit at that. "No. I met her about 5 minutes before I met you, although she says she found me on-board the Harbinger days ago."

"Well, she'd better hurry her ass to the hanger, if you're going to keep feeling what she feels. Wouldn't want to feel what it's like to be on this station when it blows."

The implications of this were staggering. How the hell had this happened? What was she going to do? She'd heard of such bonds before, of course, and had been warned in the past by the likes of Master Vrook that she seemed to forge bonds with others easily. But she's barely spent any conscious time with Kreia, and was all but Forceless at this point.

It just didn't add up.

Atton stopped short and gently tilted her body so her feet could touch the floor, then held her close for a moment to make sure she was steady.

"You sure you're alright now?" he asked softly.

"Mmm-hmm." She couldn't look away from his beautiful brown eyes. He winked at her then looked over at what appeared to be the utility droid that'd opened the emergency hatch for them earlier.


	6. Part 6

"Looks like it's been hit with an ion charge and dumped here," Atton said as they approached the little astromech.

"That would explain why we didn't hear back from him," Cat said, tucking the sides of the mining uniform shirt together and into her pants. It was utterly ruined now, but it would hold for the time being. She crouched down next to the droid. "Can you travel, little guy?" she asked it.

It responded that yes, it was operational, and that it's number was T3-M4.

Funny enough, Atton seemed irritated by the thing. _It's almost like he doesn't like anyone but me_, Cat thought to herself.

The three of them got under way.

She was able to clear her mind and work her muscles, as this part of the facility seemed fairly overrun by the rogue mining droids. Again, the combat felt great, and she couldn't help but admire what a handsome figure Atton cut as he used the 2 Republic blasters they'd managed to find back on the _Harbinger_. His dexterity was admirable, allowing him to dodge nearly every blaster bolt that came his way.

She worried a bit about Kreia, but knew there wasn't much they could do for her at this point besides get to the ship and prep it for launch.

They left the fuel depot for the docking bay, and were met with another wave of nasty malfunctioning droids. They could see the _Ebon Hawk_ from here, and it was a welcome sight. She couldn't wait to leave this place, this tomb. _And go where?_ she asked herself. Anywhere but here, seemed to be about the right answer.

Only a few more droids, and they were there. _Finally_, Cat thought with a rush of relief.

The three raced to the loading ramp and made their way aboard.

They'd no sooner entered the ship's cockpit, when they noticed dozens of Sith Troopers flooding the hanger. "Wanna give the ship's laser turret a work out?" Atton asked.

"Nah, let 'em come," she said excitedly. She felt a rush as she ran back to the ship's garage, preparing to meet all comers in combat.

There were 25 of them to be exact, and she felt like laughing as the last one fell. _Bring it!_ She was just warming up.

"All right, sweets, you've had your fun, now lets get out of here," Atton said, heading back to the pilot's chair. She was glad that he seemed to know his way around the cockpit. She wasn't sure if she would have managed, had she been on her own.

They were just firing up the engines when Kreia appeared, clutching the stump that used to be her left hand.

"Kreia!" Cat cried, jumping up from her seat and rushing to the old woman's side. She lifted Kreia's hand to inspect her wound. Yep, that looks about like what she'd felt back at the Peragus fuel depot. The wound was singed around the edges, the vessels cauterized. She would recognize such a wound anywhere. It came from a light saber.

The poor woman seemed to sense Cat's questioning look. Out of breath she gasped, "there's no time for questions now. Let's be done with this place."

Atton didn't need to be told twice. The ship lifted off, heading out into space.

As they prepared to navigate the dangerous asteroid field, the _Harbinger_ fired up it's laser cannons, and raced in pursuit of them.

"This just gets better and better," Atton grumbled, concentrating on the ship's controls.

Cat began to chew on the tip of her right thumb nail, an old habit from previous life-and-death encounters.

"If they hit us we're dead! But if they keep missing us, we're dead! That's great odds," Atton griped.

"What of the asteroids?" this, from Kreia, "they can be destroyed by us as well as them, can they not?"

"That'll take out your buddy's ship alright. Along with the entire field, the colony, and _us_."

The thumb nail popped out of Rain's mouth. "Just keep evading them until we clear the field, then make the jump to hyperspace," she said firmly.

Kreia gave a tisk of disapproval, but Atton seemed glad to follow orders.

"Hold on then. This is going to get a little rocky."

Atton was a superb pilot. Although the ship was unfamiliar to him, he managed to safely navigate the _Hawk_ through the asteroid filed, dodging laser fire as he went. They had to make the jump to hyperspace the very second they cleared the field, or the _Harbinger,_ would have a clear shot at them.

As the ship began the jump, Cat was horrified to see the field ignite under one of the _Harbinger_'s laser blasts.

It set off a chain reaction, one asteroid exploding, igniting the next, back, and back, until nothing was visible but a massive ball of fire.

It was all left behind them as the hyperdrive did it's work.

The enormity of what had just happened hit Cat and she dropped into the chair next to Atton's. At minimum? They'd just killed a planet.

Silence reigned. She looked over at Atton, and he leaned back from the ship's controls, looking dazed. "Well, the Peragus astrogation charts say we're headed to Telos. We're about six hours out," Atton volunteered into the ensuing silence.

Kreia grasped her injured limb with her right hand. "My wound pains me. If you'd like me to answer your questions, you can find me in the crew quarters. There we can speak in private," and she shuffled off.

Cat took a breath, then stood up from her chair. "I'm gonna go check her wound for her. Can you handle things up here?" she asked.

He tisked, "We're on autopilot for the next five and a half hours or so. I'll probably just catch a nap." He put his feet up and lounged back in the pilot's chair.

"OK, then. I'll be back soon."

* * *

She walked slowly through the ship's empty corridors. She could hear the hum of the hyperdrive, and the high-pitched whine of T3's gears as he moved about the ship's engine room.

So they were headed to Telos. Atton would probably take off the moment they touched down, but she was unsure what Kreia was going to do. Any prior plans Cat'd had before all this felt moot now. She and Kreia needed to stick together for the time being, or until this "Force bond" business was sorted out. Maybe they could travel to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant...

"The temple lies empty..." Kreia burst into her thoughts as she entered the port side dormitory.

So Kreia and Cat talked. They talked about the Jedi, the Sith, and the events leading to her arrival on Peragus.

It was hard to believe. The Jedi were all gone. What amounted to everyone she'd ever cared for had perished. Killed off by the infighting that had occurred after Malachor V. And Revan... oh, god, she'd started it _all_. Her redemption did not matter in the grand scheme of things, for instead of staying, and helping to rebuild the Jedi order, she'd disappeared.

One thing was clear, however, it seemed the Sith would not stop their pursuit until Cat was dead.

Kreia offered to teach her, to help her learn to use the Force again.

But they needed more help than she alone could give. Atton was the first to come to mind, although she didn't hold out much hope that she could make him stay. The situation they were in was precarious at best, and it sounded like she would need to rely more and more on these "Jedi ways" that had turned Atton off so much.

Maybe he just needed to be persuaded.

Thanks to her healing powers, Kreia's amputated hand had already healed about as much as it ever would. "If you think you'll be alright, I'm going to see if I can find some armor around here. And maybe grab some sleep," she said as she backed out of the room.

"Ah, yes." The old woman might be blind, but she wasn't stupid. "Go. See to that fool in the cockpit. But watch him closely. His thoughts are slippery... I do not trust him, and nor should you. Such a man will always serve himself first."

* * *

She entered the cockpit and Atton leaned back in his seat, grinning at her. "Well how is she? Still aging?"

"She'll be fine. She's a strong old lady."

He chuckled a little, "Really, how old do you think she is? She may have been good looking once, but it takes some _hard_ living to make creases like _that_."

Leave it to Atton to lighten the mood. She laughed out loud, " 'Good looking', huh? Are you _that_ desperate?"

"Hey! I just got out of prison. If we had a decent navicomputer, we'd be dropping out of hyperspace into the Nar Shaddaa Red Sector right now."

"Aw... poor Atton. You'll have to wait and pay for sex later." she giggled.

But then she stopped.

Maybe... maybe he _would_ just take off when they landed. And maybe they would never see each other again.

Maybe she wanted to forget, for a while, all the death and destruction that she'd been running from for so long. Forget how complicated everything had gotten, and how much danger she was in.

Maybe she'd never feel again the way she did when she was with him.

She didn't think about trying to make him stay. She only thought about _being_ with him. Right now. For this moment in time.

"Hey, um... so we've still got like five hours on auto pilot, right?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, so? You up for some Pazaak?" he started fishing around in his jacket pockets for his deck.

"No, I... Atton. I don't want this to mess anything up. I like you. A lot. And I'd like it if maybe later you'd think about whether or not you'd consider sticking around, and helping me and the old lady out."

"Um, well, I..." he stammered.

"Just let me finish. What I'm trying to say is... if you want, you can have _me_."

His eyes widened at her a moment.

Then he jumped up from his chair.

He'd never been tender with her before. Not once. But as he came to her, he softly cupped her face and brushed his lips across hers.

He didn't speak, just kissed her, softly, rolling his tongue over hers.

He held her to him, not with the desperation he'd had earlier, but with a sweetness she had yet to see from him.

"Let's go to the starboard dormitory," she whispered, pulling her lips from his.

They tip-toed through the ship like naughty children. The last thing they needed right now was another interruption from Kreia.

Atton hit the control, closing the door behind them as they entered the dorm.

Then he was pulling her to him, his mouth covering hers as he yanked that dratted mining uniform shirt off of her.

Gentle Atton was gone.

In his place was the strong, demanding Atton that she wanted so desperately.

"Damn... I want... I want you like you were the first time I saw you," he groaned, shoving her back onto the middle bunk, and jerking her boots and pants off, leaving her in the skimpy undies she'd been wearing when they met. God, was it only hours ago?

She pushed his jacket back off his shoulders, and he grabbed the hem of his own shirt and pulled it off over his head. She rubbed her hands across his pecks, then slid her hands around and gripped his muscular forearms. He leaned into her, nipping and biting his way down her neck until he reached her cleavage.

She felt his hands bunch in her hair, pulling on it as he turned his face into her breasts, biting her through the thin fabric of her top.

She started to whimper and he moved farther, past her belly, and buried his face between her legs.

The sensations built until she cried out, and he moved over her, ripping her panties off, and loosening his pants as he went.

In a rush he was surging into her, breaking quickly past the barrier he hadn't expected to be there. He froze, his eyes flying to meet hers. He had a surprised look in his eyes, but it quickly turned to a hot look of triumph and possession.

He started to move then, his shoulders blocking out the room. She had to reach out her right hand and brace it against the wall behind her to keep from hitting her head.

His strokes were hard and deep, and the brief pinch of pain had faded, leaving her dizzy. He hooked the insides of his elbows behind her knees, pushing her legs back into her chest.

The world seemed to spin off its axis, and she felt something build inside her, then burst. Bright lights flashed behind her closed eyelids, and she clung to him, crying out as the world exploded around her.

He went wild then, his strokes becoming fast and erratic. With a final hard push he clutched her to him, grunting as he found his release.

He rolled to her side, pulling her along with him until she lay cradled against his chest.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered low.

"What?" she asked, although she knew what he was asking her. She traced a fingertip across his chest.

"That I was your first?" he asked. "How...?"

"I don't know. I grew up in the order, where such things are forbidden. And I've just never found anyone who made me... feel the way you do."

He crushed her to him, burying his face in her hair.

And it was enough.

**_~ end ~_**


End file.
